I found this outstanding article on www.picturecorrect.com I came across from photographer Paul Brown. Make sure you checkout the video at the end hilarious.

Photo captured by Tatiana Garanina (Click Image to See More From Tatiana Garanina)

Before I go into what the requirements are on the wedding day from a second photographer, it would be a good idea to think about what should be considered before the day.

First things first, you may be someone who is trying to get work as a second photographer to get started in the industry before launching into a wedding as a lead photographer.

This can often be difficult so be prepared to travel to an area outside what would be considered your territory. Photographers are business people and are always wary of training a competitor, but they may also be looking for a regular second who they can trust and work with.

Find out about the principal photographer’s style. The main photographer will have been booked based on things such as style of images, personality and customer service. So it would be sensible to find out a bit about the lead. Find out their dress code and be respectful of it even if it is not your normal dress code. Prepare your equipment, make sure it is clean, batteries charged, cards formatted if using your own and find out if the principal photographer requires your cameras time to be synchronized.

So on the day, make sure you are very punctual, fairly obvious really, but if it is somewhere you haven’t been before do a bit of preparation to know the area. Google street mapping is often a useful tool for research and during my time as a wedding photographer in Lancashire, it has proven to be invaluable. Then comes the time meeting the wedding party for the first time. Be confident, polite and respectful to everyone, including other vendors that are part of the day. You may be thinking this is all obvious, but little things can often be forgotten when nerves and pressure kick in.

Now we come to the working side of the day and I will break these down to bullet points. There may be other things that can be added to the list, but these are the ones that I consider important.

Be an assistant to the main photographer. Running errands, gathering guests for groups, moving kit around, watching kit, hold reflectors, flashes, video lights and generally any task that is asked of you.

Get the shots you are asked to get and inform the lead when you have them.

Take the camera away from your eyes and look around for the reportage shots, kids playing, different angles that can make a shot look natural and details that the main photographer may not see.

Watch for things that the main photographer may miss, background distractions is one example.

Get detail shots that may be of use for album design as background images.

“Karina & Roman” captured by Elena Zotova (Click Image to See More From Elena Zotova)

Be prepared to take the lead in the event of main photographer having to break away. This may be the scary part, but act with confidence and it will be fine.

Be aware of what the main photographers plans are, remind him/her if you think something has been missed. It will be appreciated that you are showing you are thinking about what is happening.

Finally for the ‘to do’s, think ahead. If you think the need for a reflector is coming, get it to hand, if you know the need for a tripod is coming, get it and extend the legs in preparation, but most importantly, learn something every time and enjoy it. You will be part of a team so make sure you work that way.

If you have your own photography business, don’t give out your cards or try and drum up your own business. They are not your clients and that is to be respected at all times.

Do not shoot like the paparazzi unless you are specifically told to. The main photographer would rather a smaller set of well executed, high quality shots than a thousand shots taken in the hope of 20% being successful.

Do not just shoot over the shoulder of the main photographer to get some portfolio shots unless permission has been gained. It can be very off putting if it hasn’t been discussed. If it has been agreed in advance, then the main photographer will have just to inform clients that some training is taking place.

Do not publish images on blogs etc without permission from the main photographer. If permission is given, credit the main photographer. The copyright remains with the photographer/business that you are working for.

Do not chew gum, smoke, drink alcohol, swear etc if that is what is requested by the main photographer.

“Olga” captured by Olesia Kliots (Click Image to See More From Olesia Kliots)

So these are just a few of the basic things to be considered and this list can be added to. So hopefully this may be of help to some and that it will help you to be an asset if you are a second shooter at any time.

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It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas… and in our forums I’ve noticed more and more great Christmas images being shared – some of which feature a technique that is always popular at this time of year – Bokeh Christmas lights shots.

The technique takes a bit of experimenting and practice but is relatively simple to do. You need some Christmas lights and a camera lens with a reasonably ‘fast’ aperture (or a large aperture).

The key is to shoot at the larger end of your available aperture – this throws the background (and foreground) of your shot out of focus and any Christmas lights in the foreground or background will become little balls of light.

As you’ll see in most of the images featured in this series – the technique is particularly good if you also have some element in your shot that is in focus. This ‘subject’ might be a person, a pet, a Christmas decoration or something else.

You can make the little balls of light bigger by increasing the distance between your in focus subject and the out of focus lights in the background.

While most of the images in this series have the Christmas lights in the background of the image (behind the subject) it is also possible to create the little bokeh balls of light by putting the lights in the foreground of your image (in front of your subject). You can see this in the image below. The impact is a little different as the bokeh balls will cover part of your subject.

Another popular technique is to create different shaped bokeh. You can make stars, hearts or even little snow flakes like the image below.

The other way to change the shape of your bokeh balls is to experiment with different apertures. You’ll find that in most cases the larger your aperture the rounder the ball – but go for a slightly smaller aperture you may find your bokeh becomes more hexagonal (or Heptagonal or Octagonal… the number of sides will depend upon how many blades your lens has).

The different ways of using this bokeh Christmas lights technique is only limited by your imagination. Here are some more examples to give you ideas. Enjoy!

After doing Ashley and Dan’s engagement photographs Niki and I decided to take a picnic in the Boston common. This photograph of the Boston Common with the buildings and skyline in the background came out great with minimal editing. What makes this photo is how quiet and country it can be in a fast pace loud environment city like Boston. The sky was real dark and cool on that summer day as you can tell from this picture. This is the same day that Isabella got her pictures done in the Boston common and last day we went to Boston before we moved to Melbourne, Florida. the colors of the buildings really give it a contrasting feel with the clouds. Boston is a beautiful city and one of the most historic cities in the United States.

Scanning through some websites and came across this article. well written. Great article from Wedding Photographer Natalie Norton. You can check out more from Natalie at natalienortonphoto.com.

1. Light Right:

If you haven’t already mastered lighting and proper exposure, I REALLY, TRULY recommend shooting in Aperture Priority. If you struggle with Aperture Priority, well you’ve just got to shoot in plain oldAutomatic. And hey, that ain’t always such a bad thing if I do say so myself. The bottom line is that you just cannot afford the chance of improper exposures when the dude (or nowadays the chick) says “you may kiss the bride.”

2. Under Promise, Over Deliver:

If you’re going make this work, particularly if this is your very first wedding, you’ve got to set yourself up for success by managing expectations. You recall the adage, “you get what you pay for?” Well friend, that doesn’t really hold true for brides. They generally expect to get what they want. Period. I’m not knocking brides. It’s their WEDDING DAY for Pete’s sake. They should get what they want on this great day of days. But you can’t assume that just because you’re shooting for next to nothing (or in fact nothing) that there won’t be high expectations for you and your work. Under promise, over deliver. You’ve got to set clear expectations that you know beyond a doubt in the Heavens you’ll be able to achieve. If for example you really believe that you will be able to deliver 100 knock out images for each hour of shooting, promise only 50. That way when you show up with 75 awesome images from each hour you shot they’ll be ecstatic!

3. Don’t Go it Alone:

Get an assistant to come shoot with you. Two cameras are always better than one. Particularly if you’re not all that familiar with yours. It’s VERY important to have a back up to make sure you’ve got two chances at each key shot.

4. Request an Infiltrator:

Have the bride/groom assign someone to you to be sure you get shots of all the key players. Its important that you document all the key attendees, especially if you’re familiar enough with the family that you should (but don’t) know them all by name. If every time your bff talks about her favorite Aunt Bessie you’re only half listening and don’t have a clue who she is, you better be sure you’ve got someone there to point her out so you can grab that shot of her wiping her eyes during the ceremony.

5. Click, Click, CLICK:

Take pictures until your trigger finger bleeds. If you’re not totally sure, check that LCD and try, try again. You’ve got to nail it. You only get one chance at this. There isn’t going to be a do-over. Shoot and shoot and then shoot some more. In this new digital age, particularly as of late when storage space is so cheap on memory cards, you really don’t have a single reason I can think of NOT to shoot like a bat out’a hell.

6. Tell the Story:

There are a handful of shots you’ll need to be sure to include. Clearly you’ll need to cover the ceremony in it’s entirety. ie rings, smooch, tears, cake cutting, bouquet toss etc. Beyond that, be sure to get a good establishing shot of the venue, some good detail shots of all the stuff she spent WAY too much money on to decorate said venue, some good detail shots of her dress (don’t forget the shoes . . . oh and the rings!!), bride and groom with their groupies, a zillion pics of the bride alone and with her man, and then any and everything else you can possibly think of.

7. Know Where to Go:

Check out your venue before hand. Make sure that you know EXACTLY where it is, even where you’re to park. It would not be a happy day for you to come out from your pro bono wedding only to have to fork out $200 to get your car off the impound lot. It’s also a helpful rule of thumb to know what you’re getting yourself into for a shoot. Try to visit during the same time of day the wedding will be held. Check out the lighting situation. Ask about the seating and be sure you’re going to be able to photograph from the proper angles without obstructing the guest’s view.

8. Get the 411:

Talk to the individual who will be performing the ceremony. There may be rules about photographing in a certain cathedral or religious reasons you can’t photograph certain parts of the ceremony. It’s your responsibility as the photographer to make sure that these concerns are addressed with the Priest etc before you show up on the wedding day.

9. Cover Your Bases:

It just may be a good idea to have a contract. I know it seems like an awful formality, particularly between friends. It’s a wise step however to solidify expectations (an extension of what we discussed earlier about managing expectations) in order to preserve the relationship. You really love this friend of yours, as evidenced by your willingness to shoot his/her wedding, protect that relationship by insisting on a contract.

10. Go for it!

You’ve made the commitment already, now jump in with both feet. Don’t let your fear and anxiety plug up your creativity. You’re going to be great!